Isola: Steph Curry is two games away from capping off dominating postseason, as he continues to add to growing legacy

CLEVELAND – The kid from Akron – no, not that kid, the other kid – is two victories from winning a third NBA championship. He’s also a two-time regular season Most Valuable Player as well as a five-time All Star. Not bad for a guy who turned 30 in March.

Stephen Curry’s Hall of Fame credentials are quite impressive and certainly not complete. In fact, he’s on pace to add an NBA Finals MVP award to his resume which would place him in an exclusive group.

James and Curry were born three years apart in Akron and will be forever linked not just by birthplace but also by meeting in the Finals four straight years. It’s remarkable that one Ohio town produced arguably the greatest player of all time and the game’s greatest shooter.

Curry and the Golden State Warriors entered Game 3 on Wednesday with a chance to make this a quick series and etch their place in history. The same is true of Curry, who in Game 2 scored 33 points and set an NBA Finals record with nine three-pointers.

It was a mesmerizing shooting performance in the fourth quarter that demoralized the Cavs and produced the highlight of the series thus far; Curry’s desperation, end-of-the-shot-clock heave with Kevin Love draped over him.

This has been a trying season for Curry, who was limited to 51 games during the regular season and then missed the first six games of the playoffs with a knee injury.

It's all smiles for Steph Curry and the Warriors as they take a 2-0 series lead heading into Wednesday's Game 3 matchup in Cleveland. (Ben Margot / AP)

But over the Warriors’ last three games, Curry has looked like the Curry of old. In Game 7 against Houston, Curry scored 27 points. He then scored 29 in Game 1 against Cleveland and poured in 33 on Sunday while setting a record.

“I mean, regardless of how the season went, that's a pretty cool deal to accomplish, knowing who has held the record for -- what is it, probably six, eight years?,” Curry said. “But at the end of the day, it's all about trying to get a win and doing whatever you can to make that happen.

“I always say like if we focus on that, good things happen individually all across the board. So I never woke up and was like, all right, let's go get nine threes and get the record. It was more so about playing the game the right way, having good intentions out there on the court and good things happen. So pretty special night, and hopefully some more special things happen and we get two more wins.”

The Cavs, without the benefit of Kyrie Irving making Curry work on the defensive end, are struggling to stop the Warriors point guard. Kendrick Perkins tried and it led to a nasty exchange at the end of third quarter of Game 2.

Curry took exception to Perkins refusing to move his legs after Curry shot a corner jumper and backpedaled near the Cavs bench. A true sportsman would have graciously contorted his body to avoid making a contract. Perkins, however, didn’t budge and Curry, who could have easily turned his ankle had he stepped on Perkins’ foot, bumped knees with the veteran grouch.

“I was just sitting there and he landed on my leg,” Perkins told the Boston Globe. “And he was standing over my leg and I don’t understand what people want me to do. He was like, ‘What you on?’ and I’m like, ‘What you mean what I’m on?’ I’m sitting over here.”

In fact, Perkins thought Curry was out of line for challenging him.

“I don’t know why people keep wanting to pick battles this way,” he said. “Might want to choose that [expletive] wisely, man, [rather] than [bleeping] with me. I don’t think I’m the problem that they want, though, might want to pick another battle.”

At least in that moment, Perkins made Curry feel uncomfortable which is more than you can say for the rest of his teammates. In their last seven NBA Finals games, the Warriors have won six of them. And in those six victories, Curry is averaging 30.3 points.

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Just remember that the next time someone tries to tell you that Curry doesn’t deliver in big games.

Two of the biggest baskets of the series have been scored by Curry, with Love serving as Wily E. Coyote with the bomb blowing up in his face. In the final seconds of regulation in Game 1, Curry drove to the lane for a game-tying left-handed lay-up. Love whacked him across the face on the play and Curry calmly sank the go-ahead free throw.

That play was essentially lost in the madness that came before and after Curry’s three-point play. On the Warriors previous possession, referees went to replay review to overturn an offensive foul call on Kevin Durant. Instead, LeBron was called for a blocking foul.

And after Curry had given the Warriors a 107-106 lead, George Hill was fouled and the 80 percent free throw shooter missed the second of two. Everyone knew the score was tied except for J.R. Smith, who dribbled out the clock in a game the Warriors won in overtime.to